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The Slow but Steady March Towards a More Reliable Forensic Science

NCJ Number
305354
Date Published
December 2022
Abstract

The 2009 National Research Council report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, was highly critical of what was passing for science in some fields of forensics and had an immediate impact on law enforcement, crime laboratories, courtrooms, and the broader scientific community. The efforts to improve forensic science have been significant and ongoing since the National Research Council report, but has the problem been solved? Does the forensic testimony now introduced in court rest on solid scientific ground? This article examines those questions and provides an overview of the changing landscape of forensic science.